Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari (LN) - Volume 14 - Chapter 5

Chapter Five: Information on the Enemy 

Amid this chatter, the heads of the revolutionary forces had all arrived, and so we started our meeting on our future policy. 
“The old city is right there for the taking. Once we reach it, the fighting should turn further in our favor,” one of them announced. 
“You said that before,” I replied. It was the location where we could perform the rite to officially make Raphtalia the next Heavenly Emperor. 
“Once Lady Raphtalia can cast those blessings, each fighter affiliated with our forces will be worth a thousand of the enemy,” he went on. 
“Sounds good,” I remarked. 
“However, there’s one potential issue. Records from past conflicts suggest that barriers created by different sakura stones of destiny will repel each other. We can assume the enemy is going to be pretty desperate in trying to stop us.” 
“It’s still a good move on our part. We can remove something which until now has been a permanent fixture of their defenses. I mean, Raphtalia’s nullification of their blessings is already starting to render them meaningless.” If we were careful about their gear for nullifying the power of the hero weapons, we could probably just strong-arm them now, making things much easier overall. The only annoyance had been that, until now, it had been unique to our enemies. 
“Still. Casting aside such an important base and setting up a new capital in the east? What was he thinking?” I guffawed. 
“Well, the east also has some geographical advantages and was used in battles to decide the next Heavenly Emperor in the past, so it’s not such a big loss for him,” he explained. Hmmm. Everything was still getting mixed up in my head with Japanese history. I was starting to see the old city as Kyoto. That looked like a pretty good comparison, actually. 
What can I say? I kept going back to what I knew, even if the shape of the nations were quite different. 
“The fact we’ve proceeded so quickly is because we’re so far from the capital. Once we take the old city, that’s when the real fighting starts,” Raphtalia said. 
“In either case, we do the same thing. Carry on, just like this,” I stated. 
“S-sure—” Raphtalia nodded, but she had a troubled look on her face. She was worried about all of this fighting happening because of her. 
Come on, shake it off! Yes, we were the invaders, but they were the ones starting this insane stream of attacks to take Raphtalia’s life, and they were the ones who were never going to give up! 
“They don’t have any intent to negotiate a ceasefire, do they?” I asked. 
“No. It seems most of their leaders consider us pretty easy to handle,” the revolutionary said. 
“Are they seeing what’s actually happening here?” 
“I think it’s because they underestimate Lady Raphtalia, thinking her to be of a diluted Heavenly Emperor bloodline. This is all because of the foolish methods of Makina, that poisoning witch who stands behind the Heavenly Emperor.” 
 
“She’s come up before, hasn’t she? Is she really that inept?” Everyone assembled in command nodded as one at my question. Even those from Siltvelt. 
“She was a missionary, coming originally from Siltvelt in order to spread word of her beliefs. The Heavenly Emperor before last—that is, Lady Raphtalia’s grandfather—took a liking to her, and as his concubine she then started to have a say in political matters. Eventually, she came to hold the reins of power.” 
“While she came from Siltvelt, she doesn’t have a shred of patriotism and placed a heavy tax on trading.” Uwah. She sounded like a real piece of work. Siltvelt clearly didn’t care for her either. 
“There were even mutterings that she was involved in the assassination of the family of the Heavenly Emperor, but there was no proof. She’s now the only remaining one behind the Heavenly Emperor.” 
“They say the moving of the Heavenly Emperor’s base of operations to the east was also at the word of Makina. The airs in the old city don’t agree with her, apparently.” 
“So what? The current Heavenly Emperor is her child? Her grandchild?” I asked. 
“No. Makina’s children were also poisoned, assassinated. So it seems unlikely she was the culprit.” 
“I hate to say it, but it sounds like this would never have happened if the family of the Heavenly Emperor hadn’t been wiped out,” I commented. 
 
“Mr. Naofumi.” Raphtalia gave me a solid glare. Still, this vicious old bag would still have had an issue if the royal family came to an end and isolation was abandoned. It would also be obvious to her that she would quickly be ejected if the distantly related Raphtalia ended up sitting on the throne. Hmmm, well, who knew what the current moron of a Heavenly Emperor was thinking. 
“She often belittled me. I remember her well. And she’s still in control of the nation?” Sadeena hissed. So Sadeena knew her too? 
“The other problem would be the miko priestess of the water dragon.” Ah. Sadeena had been the previous miko, or something like that, right? 
“A miko priestess, blessed by the Heavenly Emperor? She’s going to appear as a murderous assassin, you can bet.” 
“Oh my.” The former miko to hold that position, Sadeena, spoke up. 
“As the previous priestess, then, what do you think? Now the water dragon is on our side, how does that affect things?” I asked. 
“She must be pretty mad about it. I guess? Like, she’s been totally betrayed by the god that she believed in. You know, something like that.” She spoke as though this was all someone else’s problem. “If she’s been blessed by the Heavenly Emperor, though, the current miko must be pretty hot stuff. I never got blessed like that.” Wow. That was an interesting tidbit. What might it mean? Considering the way the current Heavenly Emperor was carrying on, anyway, she probably didn’t have anything to be jealous about. 
“You must have some information on her,” I said. 
“Y-yeah. The current miko priestess to the water dragon is known to be the younger sister of the previous miko,” the revolutionary leader said. 
 
“What was that?” Sadeena tilted her neck, a shocked look on her face. “That’s the first I’m hearing about this. Those two had a sister for me?” 
“Those two,” she said. That spoke volumes about how close she was to her parents. 
“She was born after the previous miko was cast out. However, there’s not much other information available about the miko village, so that’s about all we’ve got. What testimony we have suggests they raised her pretty harshly, seeking to fill the miko position with an equal to the one who held it previously,” he went on. 
“Those two always did try so hard,” Sadeena lamented. Once again, a bit of a sad way of phrasing the birth of a sister. Now I was actually getting interested in her family situation. 
Hmmm, this was taking me back. I was feeling something similar to the feelings I had about my own younger brother. He had been better in school than me and bore the burden of our parents’ expectations as a result. 
“The sister should always surpass the brother,” Atla chimed in. Gah, just ignore Atla. She’d distracted me. Right now, I needed to prioritize Sadeena’s sister. 
“So she’s intended as a replacement for her superior sister?” I said. This was sounding like one twisted family. Still, her star had to be fading, betrayed by the water dragon. 

“It’s said she continues to work incredibly hard, pushing herself to match the power of the previous miko.” 

 
“Hmmm.” When I calculated back, she was probably close to Raphtalia in age. I definitely needed to get more details from Sadeena. 
“In terms of experience, I’m thinking Sadeena has the edge there?” I remarked. 
“In regard to feats of arms and work for the nation, the previous miko is definitely superior. But in regard to divine rites, she has some superior aspects—so it is said, I should say.” 
“Oh my.” 
“For example?” 
“Well, she identified that the oracle miko and priests serving the Heavenly Emperor were trying to trick him and successfully got them removed. Now she’s known as one of the few true oracles in the land.” 
“Oh, how wonderful. The miko following me is an oracle?” Sadeena said. 
“Which means what, exactly?” I could never be sure of the rules here. 
“It’s something miko or priests can be. Like, a special ability, right?” Sadeena explained. Even she didn’t seem quite sure. 
“Correct. Here in Q’ten Lo those with the abilities of an oracle are treated with great respect, but it wasn’t among the powers of the previous miko.” 
“Apparently it lets you hear the voices of your ancestors, stuff like that. It’s an ability that many miko and priests serving the Heavenly Emperor have. Back then, you know, it did bother me that I didn’t have that ability myself,” Sadeena continued. 
 
“Wow. So it’s like being able to see ghosts?” I asked. I could do that by putting Raph-chan on my head! Hah! 
“They can drink alcohol and go into a special type of trance, allowing them to make use of powers they don’t normally have access to. It allows them to invoke exceptionally powerful cooperative magic alone. Apparently,” Sadeena said. That did sound pretty awesome—but it didn’t sound like seeing ghosts. 
It was also odd to me that Sadeena didn’t have any ability. 
“Sounds like a load of make-believe to me. Like, they drank too much, shook something loose in their head, and the magic just happened to work out,” I jabbed. Alcohol had properties to restore magic power. There were also those who could somehow slip into a type of rampage state, providing a conscious boost to their power. 
“That all sounds very fishy to me too.” Raphtalia’s brow furrowed as she commented. 
“Rafu?” 
“I agree with Mr. Naofumi,” she went on. “Surely they’re just going off the rails after drinking too much.” 
“Look at you two. You sound exactly like Raphtalia’s father,” Sadeena said. 
“If someone of the bloodline of the Heavenly Emperor said so, then it sounds totally legit,” I replied. 
“Hearing that does put my mind at ease,” she mentioned. 
So what was she? The perfect miko, possessing some kind of suspicious power that Sadeena didn’t have? Still, listening to these leaders of Q’ten Lo talk about it, this new miko had apparently proven herself to be a match for Sadeena. 
 
Something else was bothering me. Raphtalia. She’d started to become as suspicious as I was. That sort of made me happy and also sort of made me sad, as though I had sullied her somehow. In that moment, I understood exactly how Fohl felt. 
“Why are you looking so sad, Mr. Naofumi?” she asked. 
“Well, I guess this can also be considered progress?” I replied. 
“Did I say something odd?” she said. I’d really brought her up to be suspicious. Maybe I need to reflect on that a little. Not that I believed things so easily myself. 
“Anyway, these are the people we’re fighting against,” I stated. 
“Yes. Please be careful.” 
“I can’t wait!” 
“I hope they’re willing to listen to reason,” I remarked. We could pray that the miko, at least, was actually aghast at the corruption consuming her nation and willing to help us. That she didn’t think the water dragon had betrayed her but rather was going along with it from the shadows. 
“In any case, we just have to carry on. We just have to do this.” To be honest, there were simply too many people trying to join our forces, and even just making a list of them was proving close to impossible. We were really riding this tailwind—a wind only blowing, of course, due to how idiotic the opposing Heavenly Emperor’s forces continued to be. 
 
“I was expecting to have to besiege some castles, things like that, but so many of them are just opening the gates for us after collapsing from the inside.” The people, and even the governors, didn’t want a war, and yet those above them were releasing sealed monsters—a tactic that was only losing the trust of those below them. How anyone could be so dumb, I really didn’t know. 
All they had to do was hunker down, draw things out, and as we also had the waves to think about, it would have forced us to take far more risks than this. 
“Anyway, at least for now, there doesn’t seem to be anyone among the enemy who can oppose the combination of Raphtalia and Filo. That might change if, for example, Sadeena’s sister shows up,” I declared. 
“All well and good, little Naofumi, but it’s also true that things are going to get a lot harder up ahead,” Sadeena cautioned. 
“I know. We can start by getting through this old city.” 
“Indeed. There’s all sorts of places there, including spots dear to Raphtalia’s parents, so it’s definitely worth a visit.” 
“That does sound worth seeing.” Raphtalia sounded unsure though. Yes, there might be trouble, but learning about Raphtalia’s roots could only be a good thing. This could all ultimately lead to Raphtalia taking charge of this nation, if she so desired, once the world was finally at peace. 
“Right. We’re going to train until nighttime and then hold a night parade in order to further spread the glory of Raphtalia. Atla, once Fohl gets back, you go shopping with him. That’s an order.” 
 
“Bah! I hope that blacksmith gives my brother the slip, forcing the poor fool to chase him into the night. Then I can have Master Naofumi all to myself,” she snapped. I didn’t like seeing a younger sibling wishing for the downfall of their elder. Definitely not as someone with a younger brother myself—even if he’d been pretty preoccupied with external appearances. 
In any case, we ended the meeting and started our training.